LAOAG CITY – The Provincial Veterinary Office in Ilocos Norte announced Friday that some of the municipalities previously affected by the African swine fever (ASF) have been upgraded to “pink (buffer) zones.”
Of the 16 towns and cities in Ilocos Norte that were previously affected by the ASF, only three remain under the “red (infected) zones,” said provincial veterinarian Loida Valenzuela. These are the towns of Banna, Piddig, and Bangui.
“We just finished testing samples for our surveillance,” said Valenzuela, as she noted the towns of Pinili and Dumalneg as among those that have been upgraded to pink zones.
Previously, ASF had spread to 16 towns and cities in Ilocos Norte, namely, the cities of Laoag and Batac, and the towns of Pinili, Dumalneg, Bacarra, Nueva Era, San Nicolas, Burgos, Piddig, Sarrat, Vintar, Banna, Dingras, Marcos, Carasi, and Solsona. They comprise more than half of the province.
While waiting to be cleared from ASF, the provincial veterinarian said they are now preparing for the implementation of the “sentinel program” where the Department of Agriculture will be distributing “sentinel pigs” and feeds to farmers and start the hog repopulation program.
It may be recalled that the Department of Agriculture has allotted a PHP110-million ASF indemnification fund to assist 3,459 hog raisers for the culling of 21,843 swine due to ASF in the Ilocos Region.
Ilocos Norte received from the DA a total of PHP28.89 million to compensate for its losses due to ASF. The amount is apart from the initial release of PHP5 million from the province’s calamity fund to provide recovery assistance to ASF-hit farmers. (PNA)
